DOCSLIB.ORG

Transitional Justice Is a Political Project Sooner Or Later the Criminals Will

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Transitional Justice Is a Political Project Sooner Or Later the Criminals Will A publication of Afghanistan watch Number 6, September 31, 2009 Sixth Note The core subjects raised during past two Lately an agreement has almost been This issue also reviews four issues of weeks about election transparency were: emerging between international transparency in the election, transitional how to count votes, investigation of community and the government of justice, reconciliation and negotiation with complaints by Elections Complaints Afghanistan about negotiation with the Taliban and corruption in the Afghan media. Commission, formation of a coalition opponents of government. However the Two exclusive interviews with Sibghatullah government, Paris meeting, predictions core issue is how the process should be about the final election results and Sanjar, Head of Policy and Transitional carried out and how can the opponents be justice Focal Point of President’s Office and reactions from Karzai’s rivals. encouraged to come to a negotiation table. The media also pointed out different Hafiz Mansoor, Editor in Chief of Payam Transitional Justice: Mujaheed Weekly and former member of aspects of negotiations particularly lack of The issue was reflected in the Afghan media Jamiath Islami Afghanistan are also results and highlighted the lack of a on one occasion during this period. The included. The subject of interviews is justice comprehensive strategy for the negotiation news is related to Karzai’s press conference and reconciliation. with the Taliban. that was held right after the declaration of Election Transparency: preliminary election results in Kabul. Karzai Corruption: Just like five previous issues election called the criticisms about the presence of There was no burning and core issue about transparency was a burning issue in the war criminals in his government an corruption during past two weeks. Different outdated issue and regarded these issues related to corruption have been Afghan media during the past two weeks. The partial final election result was criticisms as a conspiracy by the enemies of highlighted in the media during the past two announced and Hamid Karzai is leading with the people of Afghanistan. weeks. Almost all have criticized government 54 percent of votes. However the final and Negotiation and Reconciliation with Anti‐ of Karzai of corruption and are quantitatively ultimate election results are still pending. government forces: similar to the previous weeks. Sooner or later Transitional the criminals justice is a will be brought political project the court The implementation of transitional justice that was due to I believe we have misused the beautiful word justice by put into effect until 2009 was not implemented. I responsibly transitional justice. Although everyone favors justice; however say unless there is a strong executive force and government transitional justice is a political project and they want to with a strong legislative force in Afghanistan and the people suppress their political rivals. This project will bring tensions are encouraged towards national solidarity and reconciliation and uprisings instead of establishing security. I believe this we can never be able to implement the action plan of project has brought no benefit for our people; instead it has government. been a controversial and divisive project for today and tomorrow of our country. Page 20 Page 14 The Truth is a bi‐weekly publication of the Afghanistan Watch supported by the International Centre for Transitional Justice (ICTJ). It is intended to provide a snapshot of how the Afghan media and candidates for Presidential and Provincial Councils Elections debate and approach these key issues facing the country: transitional justice, corruption, elections transparency and negotiationsPURL: with the https://www.legal-tools.org/doc/706b18/ armed insurgents. If you wish to subscribe please send an email to [email protected] or visit our website: www.watchafghanistan.org Inside This Issue Transitional Justice Uncertainties nullify uncertainties 9 Karzai: Old issues should not be repeated 3 Holbrooke: Do not jump amid election results 9 Negotiation with armed position Groups Election Could Go To Second Round If Frauds Are Pursued 9 America struggles to form a coalition government 9 New War Strategy in Afghanistan 4 Who Is The Winner Of Elections? 9 The foundations of negotiation with the Taliban 4 Forming coalition Government means returning to past 9 The Taliban Parallel Government 4 The people of Badakhshan province in a meeting with Abdullah: Americans wants a puppet president in Afghanistan! 4 Neglecting frauds will complicate the situation 10 Negotiation with the Taliban a repetitive and futile effort 4 Elections concerns raised in meeting between Emphasis on eradicating violence in Afghanistan 5 British Ambassador and Balkh Governor 10 Hamid Karzai congratulated Eid 10% of the votes will be recounted 10 for the people of Afghanistan and the world 5 Iran respects the vote and elections of Afghanistan 10 The Commander of NATO: No Foreign Intervention is allowed in elections! 10 The plan of negotiation with Taliban is on the table 5 Karzai is under pressure to share power 10 Elections Transparency Considering frauds and manipulations, there Where were the election observers on the day of 6 should be a run‐off 10 Afghanistan, passing through crucial periods 6 UN asked for investigations of election frauds 10 In ten districts of Ghazni province 6 The declaration of final partial results of polling stations 10 In Paris Conference: Widespread fraud in the election 6 Corruption Dishonest candidates will be pursued by law 7 Fight against corruption can establish a healthy system 12 Moral charter approved to fight corruption in the country 12 Victory with Fraud 7 Ponder required on widespread corruption 12 Expelled Spy: the source of rumors of verbal 7 Seven years of governance in Afghanistan 12 500 serious elections complaints to be 7 Hamid Karzai from Bush’s Mandella to Obama’s ECC in a historical test 7 Head of Narco‐State 12 The probability of weeks delay in the final results 7 Minister for Public Health: Foreigners do not fulfill their promises 13 Widespread Election Fraud, Caused Abdullah to 7 Aids wasted because of lack of coordination Announcement of Preliminary Election Results: 13 8 Strong Criticism by Governor of Balkh: Partial Recount in the Afghan Votes 8 The central government is crook and corrupt 13 Based on the decision of the ECC votes from 83 The meeting of British Ambassador and Governor polling stations were declared invalid 8 of Balkh behind closed door 13 Concerns about the declaration of 91 percent Corruption, the basic problem of Afghanistan 13 results of votes 8 Karzai is alone! 8 Exclusive Topics Transitional justice is a political project 14 Sooner or later the criminals will be brought the court 20 PURL: https://www.legal-tools.org/doc/706b18/ No 6, September 31, 2009 Transitional Justice Karzai: Old issues should not be repeated Afghanistan Daily, No 898, Page 1, Sep 19, 2009 Regarding war criminals, Hamid Karzai said that Afghans are called by different names and today we should not repeat the old issues once again. We should not be hoodwinked by the foreigners because it will create tensions. 3 |Page http://www.watchafghanistan.org PURL: https://www.legal-tools.org/doc/706b18/ No 6, September 31, 2009 Negotiation with armed Opposition Groups New War Strategy in Afghanistan Sorosh Millat Daily, No 162, Page 2, Sep 3, 2009 It is said that the US Military and officials in White House are contemplating a new war strategy in Afghanistan as the findings of General Stanley Mc. Chrystal the US military commander in Afghanistan reported that the security situation is worsening and deteriorating every day. However Afghans are wondering how useful the new strategy would be in Afghanistan. Undoubtedly, if the Taliban were treated as a political and social power in Afghanistan and were encouraged to participate in the political and social structure of Afghan society our country would be in a new threshold and we would not observe the critical and deteriorated situation that Mc. Crystal talks of. In reality, if the American strategies were on time and their decisions have been practical and enforceable focused on the reconstruction of economic infrastructures and for the disputing parties. It has increased their popularity reduction of poverty, there was no need of a new beginning and amongst people to consult them for their cases. In contrast their policies would not have gone wrong. There has been a people believe there are no hopes for settlement in state courts relation between critical economic situation and deteriorating and a case can go on for years and one has to wander around in security situation in Afghanistan. different offices and pay a lot of bribes. Although we can not take the governance of Taliban as a model ــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ The foundations of negotiation with the Taliban and example however as the current government is sunk in the corruption and weaknesses, the Taliban style administration can Mandegar Daily, No 120, Page 2, August 31, 2009 be considered as an option. Author: Dr. Mohyeddin Mehdi ــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ Peace with Taliban does not mean sharing political power with them, because participation in the political power of the Americans wants a puppet president in Afghanistan! country is to accept and move along with the process which Rah e Nejat Daily, No 1260 Page 3, Sep 12, 2009 started with the fall of Taliban and is moving ahead quickly and with great hopes. Karzai emphasized on the peace negotiation with the Taliban and promised to put it into effect during first 100 days of his The principles of negotiation with the Taliban or any other term in office. The President also said the support of Afghans is armed opponent group should not result into the violation of more important than killing Taliban and, said, he believed doctrines of development, national unity and advancement. The terrorism is different from rebellion.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Afghanistan, 1989-1996: Between the Soviets and the Taliban
    Afghanistan, 1989-1996: Between the Soviets and the Taliban A thesis submitted to the Miami University Honors Program in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for University Honors with Distinction by, Brandon Smith May 2005 Oxford, OH ABSTRACT AFGHANISTAN, 1989-1996: BETWEEN THE SOVIETS AND THE TALIBAN by, BRANDON SMITH This paper examines why the Afghan resistance fighters from the war against the Soviets, the mujahideen, were unable to establish a government in the time period between the withdrawal of the Soviet army from Afghanistan in 1989 and the consolidation of power by the Taliban in 1996. A number of conflicting explanations exist regarding Afghanistan’s instability during this time period. This paper argues that the developments in Afghanistan from 1989 to 1996 can be linked to the influence of actors outside Afghanistan, but not to the extent that the choices and actions of individual actors can be overlooked or ignored. Further, the choices and actions of individual actors need not be explained in terms of ancient animosities or historic tendencies, but rather were calculated moves to secure power. In support of this argument, international, national, and individual level factors are examined. ii Afghanistan, 1989-1996: Between the Soviets and the Taliban by, Brandon Smith Approved by: _________________________, Advisor Karen L. Dawisha _________________________, Reader John M. Rothgeb, Jr. _________________________, Reader Homayun Sidky Accepted by: ________________________, Director, University Honors Program iii Thanks to Karen Dawisha for her guidance and willingness to help on her year off, and to John Rothgeb and Homayun Sidky for taking the time to read the final draft and offer their feedback.
    [Show full text]
  • Herat Security Dialogue Short Bios of the Presenters and Moderators
    Herat Security Dialogue Short Bios of the Presenters and Moderators Abdullah Ahmadzai Abdullah Ahmadzai is The Asia Foundation’s County Representative in Afghanistan. He served as the Deputy Country Representative from 2012 to 2014. He was formerly Chief Electoral Officer for the Independent Election Commission (IEC) of Afghanistan. Prior to his position with the IEC, from June 2006 to October 2009, Ahmadzai worked with the Foundation, serving under the Support to Center of Government project in Afghanistan. Between 2004 and 2006, he held positions with the UN under the Joint Electoral Management Body Secretariat (JEMBS), first as an Area Manager and then as Chief of Operations. From 2003-2004, Ahmadzai was actively involved with the Afghanistan Constitution Commission which was mandated by the 2001 Bonn Agreement to draft a new constitution for the country. Under the Commission, he assisted with the Emergency Loya Jirga and later the drafting of the constitution which was formally adopted in January 2004. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology from Brains Degree College in Peshawar, Pakistan, in addition to several workshop certificates earned through Harvard and Georgetown Universities, and the International Foundation for Electoral Services. Abdul Ghafoor Liwal Abdul Ghafoor Liwal is the Special Advisor to the President of National Unity Government for Tribal and Border Affairs. Prior to this, he worked as a Deputy Minister of Tribal and Border Affairs. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Literature from Kabul University and two Masters, one in Journalism from Maryland University (2004-2005), and another in Pashtu from Kabul University in 2008.
    [Show full text]
  • Strategic Insight
    Strategic Insight The Loya Jirga, Ethnic Rivalries and Future Afghan Stability by Thomas H. Johnson Strategic Insights are authored monthly by analysts with the Center for Contemporary Conflict (CCC). The CCC is the research arm of the National Security Affairs Department at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Naval Postgraduate School, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. August 6, 2002 On June 24 the Afghan transitional government and administration of Hamid Karzai was installed during formal ceremonies in Kabul. Karzai had easily won the June 13 election at a national political assembly, or loya jirga. The loya jirga consisted of 1500 representatives, elected or appointed from 32 provinces, and debated the political future of Afghanistan over a seven-day period. The Karzai government is supposed to rule Afghanistan through 2003. During the ceremony, Karzai and his new cabinet took an oath in both major Afghan languages (Pashtu and Dari), vowing to "follow the basic teachings of Islam" and the laws of the land, to renounce corruption, and to "safeguard the honor and integrity of Afghanistan."[1] How successful they are in achieving these vows will be critical to the near term future of Afghanistan, its reconstruction, and possibly the stability of the entire region of Central Asia. This transitional government was the result of an Emergency Loya Jirga and part of the Bonn Agreement (of November-December 2001). While not explicitly stating so in the Bonn Agreement, Lakhdar Brahimi, the Special Representative of the U.N.
    [Show full text]
  • November 08, 2018
    Page 4 November 08, 2018 (1) Presidential Poll... Afghan News: “I plan to contest the dence on foreign aid and put a ma- when talking about Jennie’s com- 10,000 horticulturists were engaged in pomegranate farming and har- resigned from their posts. Presidential Election and the cre- jor dent in the illicit opium trade, the ments. vests in Kandahar. A reliable source wishing anonym- ation of our team is being mulled main revenue source of the Taliban “How could you do anything but He said the Ministry of Agriculture, ity said four electoral alliances had over.” insurgency. not try and do your best on Election Irrigation and Livestock created been formed so far. Anwarul Haq Ahadi, head of the The sanctions exception granted to Day? To sit around and mope or not new pomegranate gardens on 250 Mohammad Ashraf Ghani with Atta New Afghanistan National Front, the Chabahar project aims to further focus is something that would be acres of land in Kandahar this year. Mohammad Noor and Sarwar Dan- said: “I will try to be an independent US ties with Afghanistan and India unrelateable to Brent,” he said. (Pajhwok) ish as his deputies would be sup- candidate but if the decision to sup- “as we execute a policy of maxi- Thousands of miles away in Af- ported by Gulbuddin Hikmatyar, port another candidate would be mum pressure to change the Iranian ghanistan, Rahmani told VOA he (10) 7 Police Personnel... taken later.” regime’s destabilizing policies in hoped the Taliban would see his let- Mohammad Karim Khalili, Sib- Mohibullah Mohib said two securi- Syed Jawad Hussiani, spokesman the region and beyond,” the State ter and realize that the “bonds” of ghatullah Mujadidi, Pir Syed Hamid ty forces were killed and two others for the New Afghanistan National Department spokesman said.
    [Show full text]
  • Briefing Notes 22 July 2013
    Asylum and Migration Information Centre Briefing Notes 22 July 2013 Afghanistan Security situation Also last week saw fights and attacks, mainly targeted at representatives of the Afghan state or at foreign military staff. On 17.07.13, a prosecutor was shot dead by Taliban members in the city of Karuch (western Herat province). The victim was a brother of the security advisor and former minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta. In Logar province (south of Kabul), Taliban members attacked eight Afghan civilians contracted by ISAF, who were on their way to work, and executed them with shots to the head on 18.07.13. On the same day, two police officers were killed and two injured in an attack on a police station by the Taliban in northern Kunduz city. On 19.07.13, four attacks occurred in different places in southern Helmand province, killing five Afghan intelligence officers, three policemen and six civilians. In neighbouring Kandahar province, several bomb attacks claimed the lives of at least five civilians, nine more people were injured. The attacks were launched in Panjwai, Arghandab and Spin Boldak districts. Also last weekend, Afghan and NATO units killed at least 30 Taliban insurgents within 24 hours, as was reported by the Afghan interior ministry. Great Britain grants right of stay to Afghan helpers According to several press reports, the British government plans to grant the right to reside in the UK to a total of around 600 Afghans who served the British forces by carrying out particularly dangerous and demanding jobs (mostly interpreters). Setbacks for women’s rights NGO Human Rights Watch reports that the draft of a criminal law amendment is pending in parliament prohibiting the relatives of a criminal defendant from being questioned as a witness against the accused.
    [Show full text]
  • NATO-Afghanistan Relations
    North Atlantic Treaty Organization www.nato.int/factsheets Media Backgrounder June 2021 NATO-Afghanistan relations Opening of a new-chapter NATO and Afghanistan will now open a new chapter in their relations, as the process of withdrawing international troops contributed to the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission to train, advise, and assist the Afghan security forces and institutions is ongoing. NATO Allies are committed to continue to stand with Afghanistan, its people and its institutions in promoting security and upholding the hard-won gains of the last NATO Secretary General Jens 20 years. Stoltenberg and President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan NATO will continue to provide training, as well as financial support to the Afghan National Defence and Ashraf Ghani in Kabul, Security Forces, including through the Afghan National Army Trust Fund. November 2018. It will retain a Senior Civilian Representative’s Office in Kabul to continue diplomatic engagement and enhance our partnership with Afghanistan. The Office of the Senior Civilian Representative will engage with a range of actors, including from Afghanistan, countries in the region, the International Community and NGOs representatives. Also, in light of the importance of an enduring diplomatic and international presence, NATO will provide funding to ensure continued functioning of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. Furthermore, NATO will step up dialogue on Afghanistan with relevant international and regional partners; and all NATO Allies will continue to support the ongoing Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace process towards a lasting, inclusive political settlement that puts and end to violence, safeguards the human rights of Afghans – particularly women, children and minorities – upholds the rule of law, and ensures that Afghanistan never again serves as a safe haven for terrorists.
    [Show full text]
  • Study on Security Cooperation in The
    This publicaion has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publicaion are the sole responsibility of ATR Consuling and can in no way be taken to relect the views of the European Union. CONTENTs Execuive Summary 1 Acronyms 2 Acknowledgements 5 Background and 6 Context Concept and 7 Background of the Heart of Asia Building r Commitment 8 States to the Heart of Asia Process Among Membe Map 1: 9 Heart of Asia Member States Exising Studies 10 on the Heart of Asia Process Approach and 11 Methodology Approach 11 Research Quesions 11 Methodology 12 Findings 13 Security Cooperaion’ Looking Beyond the Tradiional Deiniion of ‘ 13 Security Threats 14 in the Region Security Cooperaion 17 Mechanisms in the Region Obstacles to 22 Efecive Security Cooperaion in the Region Opportuniies for 23 Intensiied Security Cooperaion Incenives for 25 Intensiied Security Cooperaion Policy Opions 26 for the Heart of Asia Conclusion 29 Appendix I: 31 Afghanistan Most Relevant 32 Security Threats to Afghanistan Exising Security 32 Cooperaion Mechanisms Obstacles to 35 Efecive Security Cooperaion Opportuniies aion and 38 Incenives for Intensiied Security Cooper Promising Policy 40 Opions for the Heart of Asia Process Map 2: 40 Proposed Route of TAPI Gas Pipeline Project Appendix II: 42 Azerbaijan Most Relevant 43 Security Threats Exising Security 44 Cooperaion Mechanisms Obstacles to Efecive Security Cooperaion 45 Opportuniies and Incenives for Intensiied Security Cooperaion 46 Promising Policy Opions for the Heart of Asia Process
    [Show full text]
  • Democratization in Afghanistan by Chris Rowe
    H UMAN R IGHTS & H UMAN W ELFARE Democratization in Afghanistan by Chris Rowe What determines whether a specific country embarks on the road to democracy, if it completes that voyage successfully, and finally consolidates democratic values, practices, and institutions? Analysts have debated these issues for decades and have identified a number of historical, structural, and cultural variables that help account for the establishment of successful democracies in some countries and its absence in others. Frequently cited prerequisites for democracy include social and economic modernization; a large and vibrant middle class; and cultural norms and values relating to politics. Yet whatever its determinants, operational democracies normally include contested elections, a free press, and the separation of powers. Although these characteristics have been identified as vital features of a democracy, emerging democracies also need to address serious social and economic injustices that threaten democratic consolidation. Afghanistan is a case in point in this regard. As a burgeoning democracy directly influenced by U.S.-led nation-building efforts, Afghanistan presents a unique and challenging case for democratization. Afghanistan has been ruled by warlords since the era of Taliban rule, and to an extent still is. Informal rule combined with the heroin trade and severe gender inequalities have created a frail foundation on which to promote democratic reforms. Although international human rights, judicial and national assembly commissions have presented significant mandates for change, all have met with problematic results. In order for democracy to take hold in Afghanistan, the fruits of warlord economy–opium production, smuggling, and illicit taxation of trade–must be wrested away from regional power brokers and replaced with socially stable economic incentives.
    [Show full text]
  • Downloaded for Personal Non‐Commercial Research Or Study, Without Prior Permission Or Charge
    Hakimi, Aziz Ahmed (2015) Fighting for patronage: American counterinsurgency and the Afghan local police. PhD thesis. SOAS, University of London. Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non‐commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this thesis, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", name of the School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination. Fighting for Patronage: American counterinsurgency and the Afghan Local Police AZIZ AHMED HAKIMI Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Development Studies School of Oriental and African Studies University of London 2015 1 Abstract This thesis examines the emergence and evolution of the Afghan Local Police (ALP), a pro-government militia supported by the US military as an entry point for exploring the fluid security and political terrain of post-2001 Afghanistan. The study reveals how the ALP emerged as a compromise between the US ambition to scale up the use of local militias and the Afghan president’s attempts to control the local armed groups and the flow of patronage that the US support to these groups represented.
    [Show full text]
  • Counterinsurgency, Local Militias, and Statebuilding in Afghanistan
    [PEACEW RKS [ COUNTERINSURGENCY, LOCAL MILITIAS, AND STATEBUILDING IN AFGHANISTAN Jonathan Goodhand and Aziz Hakimi ABOUT THE REPORT Much international effort and funding have focused on building and bureaucratizing the means of violence in Afghanistan. At the same time, parallel government and NATO experiments have armed local defense forces, including local militias, under the Afghan Local Police (ALP) program to fight the insurgency and provide security at the local level. This report—which is based on a year’s research in Kabul and the provinces of Wardak, Baghlan, and Kunduz—seeks to understand the role and impact of the ALP on security and political dynamics in the context of ongoing counterinsurgency and stabilization operations and the projected drawdown of international troops in 2014 . ABOUT THE AUTHORS Jonathan Goodhand is a professor of conflict and development studies in the Development Studies department at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London. His research interests include the political economy of aid, conflict, and postwar reconstruction, with a particular focus on Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. Aziz Hakimi is a PhD candidate at SOAS. His dissertation focuses on the ALP in relation to Afghan statebuilding. Cover photo: Afghan Local Police candidates, Daykundi Province, by Petty Officer 2nd Class David Brandenburg, supplied by DVIDS The views expressed in this report are those of the authors alone. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Institute of Peace. United States Institute of Peace 2301 Constitution Ave., NW Washington, DC 20037 Phone: 202.457.1700 Fax: 202.429.6063 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.usip.org Peaceworks No.
    [Show full text]
  • Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS)
    Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS) Herat Security Dialogue-VIII "Settlement of Afghanistan Conflict: Opportunities and Obstacles” 18-19 October 2019-Herat Conference Report www.aiss.af AISS-HSD-08-2019 Contents About AISS ......................................................................................................................................... 1 A Short Introduction to the Herat Security Dialogue Series .................................................. 3 Concept Note ...................................................................................................................................... 3 Opening session ................................................................................................................................. 5 Panel I: An Inter-Elite Consensus: Nationalism & Governance ......................................... 17 Question and answer: ................................................................................................ 28 Panel II: Taliban 1 & 2: Have They Learned Their Lesson? ............................................... 29 Question and Answer: ............................................................................................... 35 Panel III: Economic and Social Transformation ..................................................................... 36 Question and Answer: ............................................................................................... 41 Panel IV: South Asia: A Paradigm Change? ...........................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Steht Später Die Headline
    COUNTRY RE PORT Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V. AFGHANISTAN NILS WÖRMER October 2014 Unity Government in Kabul www.kas.de AFGHAN HANDOVER UNDEMOCRATIC BUT PEACEFUL www.kas.de/afghanistan The Afghan constitution barred serving the brink of collapse – agreed to form a Na- President Hamid Karzai from standing tional Unity Government. again in 2014. Thus, many Afghans hoped that the third presidential election since The inauguration of Ashraf Ghani followed the fall of the Taliban in 2001 would bring on 29 September and ended the almost 13- the first democratic handover in the coun- year presidency of Hamid Karzai, who ini- try’s history. But when a victor was finally tially served as interim president for two announced almost six months after the years from December 2001 and then won first round of voting, there was little men- the 2004 and 2009 presidential elections. tion of democracy in Kabul. Large parts of the population were simply relieved to see The IEC sent result of the second round of what appeared to be a peaceful handover, voting on 14 June to the election teams of and glad that the economic stagnation both candidates on 21 September, after the and political and personal uncertainty of agreement on forming a National Unity the election period were over. Yet the Government had been signed and the head election process, which some observers of the Commission, Ahmad Yousuf Nuri- made into a milestone of the transition stani, had declared Ghani the winner of the phase or a litmus test of the current state presidential elections.
    [Show full text]